\n<\/p>\n
Hardware startup Nothing said Thursday that it plans to make its affordable device brand, CMF, into an independent subsidiary with India serving as its headquarters for manufacturing and R&D.<\/p>\n
The company first launched CMF in 2023 with a pair of earbuds and a <\/a>smartwatch. Since then, it has introduced smartphones under the brand as well.<\/p>\n Nothing said that it is partnering with Indian ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) Optiemus to create a joint venture for manufacturing. While the startup didn\u2019t reveal the ownership structure of this venture, it said that it aims to invest more than $100 million over the next three years, while creating over 1,800 jobs.<\/p>\n The London-based startup, following its $200 million funding round led by Tiger Global,<\/a> didn\u2019t say how much money from this round will go into setting up this new venture.<\/p>\n Nothing\u2019s decision to choose India as CMF\u2019s operational headquarters makes sense for a few reasons. CMF\u2019s smartphones have been priced under $200, and that is the dominant category in India, with over 42% of phones shipped in Q2 2025 being in the $100-$200 price range, according to IDC<\/a>.<\/p>\n India has also been Nothing\u2019s strongest market with over 2% market share in smartphones. IDC told TechCrunch via email that Nothing was the fastest-growing brand in the country in Q2 2025, with 85% growth in shipments year over year.<\/p>\n \u201cIndia will play a key role in shaping the future of the global smartphone industry.\u00a0CMF\u00a0has been well-received by the market since we launched it two years ago. With our end-to-end capabilities, we are uniquely positioned to now build it into India\u2019s first truly global smartphone brand. Our joint venture with Optiemus is a key milestone toward making that vision a reality,\u201d Nothing\u2019s CEO Carl Pei said in a statement. <\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span> The company\u2019s move comes after it poached Himanshu Tondon from Xiaomi\u2019s spin-off brand POCO<\/a> last month to be VP of Business for CMF. <\/p>\n Brand spin-offs have been increasingly common in the last decade, especially for brands based in China. Examples include Xiaomi spinning off POCO<\/a>, Huawei selling off Honor<\/a>, and Oppo making Realme a separate company<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 27-29, 2025<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n